Should An HIV-Positive Body Be Considered a Deadly Weapon?

When Terrance Williams was 21, he met a man in Syracuse, and the two became friends. Some weeks later, they became sexually involved. Williams and this partner—who, in court papers, is referred to only as “the victim”—used protection in their relationship, at first. But one night, Williams’s partner reached for a condom, and Williams removed it from his hand. The two often talked about the dangers of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and Williams’s partner asked him, four times, if it was safe for them to have unprotected sex. Williams assured him that it was.

That was in the summer of 2010. In December 2009, Williams had been diagnosed as HIV positive. A few months into their relationship, in October 2010, Williams told his partner that he believed might be HIV positive, because, before they had started sleeping together, Williams had had unprotected sex with an infected person. Williams suggested that his partner get tested. Come November, the partner ended their sexual relationship. Three months later, in February 2011, he became severely ill, and subsequently learned that he was HIV positive. It wasn’t until two months after that that Williams got in touch, and admitted that he had lied about his HIV status. Williams wrote, “i want to start by saying that i sincerely apologize for giving you hiv.” And, “i made my biggest mistake the night i said I didn't want to use a condom knowing my status but still being so deep in love with you that i wanted us to be one person ... I was selfish and i was more so concerned with my own false happiness than you health.” After reading that confession, Williams’s former partner went to the police.